'Re-establishment of independent Tibet will ease tension'

Kochi, Nov 7 (UNI) Calling for global support for the Tibetan cause, 'Friends of Tibet' General Secretary Tenzin Tsundue today said the re-establishment of an independent Tibet with a peaceful Himalayan border would ease tension in the region.

Talking to mediapersons here, he said though most of the countries were virtually supporting the Tibetan cause, their hands were tied due to diplomatic and political pressures.

''China is trying to strengthen its control over Tibet through its market economy to corporatise human and mineral resources and transfer of population from China to Tibet,'' Mr Tsundue alleged.

''The Chinese Government with its colonalisation mentality was tightening the grip over Tibet through population transfer, whereby the Chinese population in the Himalayan land was ten million, compared to the local population of six million,'' he claimed.

Mr Tsundue alleged that Communism in China was degenerating and the country's government was moving towards capitalist principles to make money at any cost.

''Indians across the country are supporting us and we are trying to create more awareness on the problems being faced by Tibetans under Chinese control,'' he noted.

Mr Tsundue, who was on exile, caught the attention of the world media when he scaled to the 14th floor of the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai to unfurl a Tibetan flag and a banner which read ''Free Tibet'' during the visit of Chinese premier Zhu Rongji in 2002.

UNI